Blizzard Storm
by countrymusiccowgirl
Summary: Inspired from the Phantom Stallion books, but with my own twist. It's in a series, this isn't the first, but the first completed.


Blizzard Storm

Early morning sun glittered off of the snow covered ranch, making it look like a winter wonderland.  
I grinned to myself, standing on the porch, overlooking the ranch. I loved being the first one up after a fresh snow, when the snow had never been touched or walked through. Everything looked so untouched and peaceful.  
I walked down the stairs and headed towards the barn. The only thing better then a snowy morning, was riding in a snowy morning.  
The barn was quiet and warm when I walked in. Most of the horses were still dozing in the back of their stall.  
I stopped in front of Image's stall. The seven month old black and white filly was laying in the stall, asleep. As much I as I wanted to pet her, I left her alone, not wanting to wake her up. Instead I headed for my riding horse, Poison Ivy's stall.  
Ivy was standing at the stall door, waiting for me. She whickered softly, then stuck her nose out, waiting for me to pet her.  
"Hey sweetie," I said, rubbing my hand over her soft black muzzle. "Ready to go for a morning ride?"  
She bobbed her as if she couldn't think of anything better to do.  
Rather then get a saddle and bridle from the tack room, I grabbed Ivy's blue halter, and slipped it over the mustang's nose and latched it, then lead the mare out of her stall. Once outside of the barn Ivy ran her nose along the snow, then lifted her head up and snorted.  
"Your silly," I said, smiling and petting her fuzzy black neck. Then I slipped onto her back and picked up the lead rope. "Where should we go?" I asked, mostly to myself, looking around the ranch.  
Normally we would have ridden out to the canyon, but I didn't want to go that far from the ranch while it was this cold. And looking up at the sky I wondered if it might snow some more. "We are defintely gonna have a white Christmas, aren't we?" I murmured, turning Ivy towards the driveway. A walk to the road and back would be a good ten minute ride. And that would be plenty for the morning.  
Christmas was only six days away, and I couldn't wait.  
Ivy walked eagarly through the snow. Halfway down the driveway she stopped, her ears pricked forward and she stared down the driveway.  
"What is it girl?" I asked, guessing it was probably just a rabbit or a squirel, or maybe even a deer.  
Instead I heard hoofbeats.  
Within a few seconds I could see my best friend, Nick Graham, coming down the road on his green broke gelding, Clue.  
"Well the snow didn't stop him," I muttered, urging Ivy forward to meet Nick and Clue.  
So far Clue was the only horse that Ivy liked. The mustang did not get along with any of our horses. But she had formed a real bond with the black and white gelding.  
"Morning," I called, when Nick was close enough.  
he didn't say anything, just nodded and did a sliding stop with Clue, that kicked the snow up into my face.  
I gave Nick a sour look and wiped the snow from my face. "Thanks a lot." I said, taking off my worn black stetson and knocking the snow off it. Then I set it back over my dark hair and looked over Nick critcally. "So what are you doing over this early?" I asked, turning Ivy back towards the ranch.  
"I could ask you the same thing." He said.  
I rolled my eyes. Nick could be so fustrating. "Well if you must know, I am taking Ivy for a morning ride. And you are...?" I let the question hang and looked at him expectingly.  
"Saw the weather report this morning, said they might be predicting a blizzard." He said.  
"Really?" I asked, instrested. "Like today?"  
"Today, tomorrow, something like that." He said. Then he shook his head. "Anyway I thought I'd come over and give you guys a hand on getting ready for a blizzard."  
"Thanks." I said, even though I guessed that he had really been looking for excuse to take Clue out in the snow for the first time.

The four year old was handling it well though. He pranced around a little, but he was still doing what Nick asked of him.  
We rode back to the barn in silence.  
The lights were on in the house, so I knew that MOm and Dad had gotten up.  
The barn was as I had left it though. I slid off of Ivy's back and looked at the pastures. There were two now. A twenty acre pasture for the broodmares and foals, and the saddle horses. Then off to the side was a five acre pasture that Dad had built for Ivy. I wasn't sure that I should let her out though. I knew she could handle the cold, but part of me wanted to keep her warm in the barn.  
"You can probably let her out for the morning," Nick said from behind me, reading my mind. "You can always bring her back in the weather starts looking bad."  
"Okay," I said. "But I'm gonna put a blanket on her, just in case."  
Nick shook his head at my worry, but didn't say anything.  
I handed Ivy's lead to him and hurried into the barn's tack room to grab Ivy's red blanket.  
Once outside it only took me a moment to fasten it on over Ivy's back, then I lead her over to the pasture and turned her out. She ran around the pasture, glad to be free. She galloped in a circle, then bucked, then loped around the fence line.  
I smiled and headed to the barn to get her a couple flakes of hay and a handful of grain for her breakfast, while Nick put Clue into one of our stalls.

I tossed the hay into the feeder for Ivy, then fed her the grain from my hand.  
"Morning Jasmine,"  
I turned around from the fence to see my Dad. He was all geared up for the weather, with his heavy coat and gloves. I wondered if he would be riding out to check on the cattle or not.

"Morning," I said, pulling my stetson down for protection against a cold gust of wind. "Have you seen NIck yet?"  
He shook his head. "no, he over already?" He asked.  
I nodded. "Yeah, he was saying something about a blizzard...?" I said, then I looked up at Dad. "you really don't think we are gonna have a blizzard do you? I mean, it's cold out here now, but nothing like a blizzard."  
Dad shrugged. "It's hard to say Jas. Blizzards can come out of no where, which is why you've got to be prepared for them."  
"Are we?" I asked.

He nodded and smiled at me. "We will be. So don't worry." he said, then started for the barn.  
Not worry? Right. That was defintely easier said then done.  
I started for the barn, but I saw Mom walking from the house towards me. Her dark jacket was open in the front revealing that she was wearing her BLM uniform. I hadn't expected Mom to go to work today.  
"Morning Jas." She said, coming over to me.  
"Morning Mom." I said. "Are you going to work?"  
"In a little while, yes," She said, running a hand through her blond hair. "But first I want you and Nick to come in and get some hot chocolate. I just made some and I am sure that neither you or him ate any breakfast this morning. And then I really need you to watch Charlie and Ashlea this morning."  
Charlie and Ashlea were my little brother and sister. I frowned. "What happened to Jeanie?" I asked. Jeanie was their babysitter.  
"Oh I hate to make her come over with the possiblity of a storm. Please honey?" She asked. "They will be taking their naps soon, and you cna spend the rest of the day watching a movie with them. ANd I'll be home within a few hours, I just need to make finish up some things at work."  
"Okay," I said. "I'll go get Nick and we'll be in, in a minute." I said.  
"Thank you honey." Mom said, smiling at me. Then she headed back for the house. I headed towards the barn to find Nick.

Three hours later I had finally gotten Charlie and Ashlea down for a nap. We had ended up spending the morning watching a movie, and then I'd had to convice them that they really did need to settle down and take a nap. Sometime during that, Nick had disappeared to the kitchen. He had vouteered to help me with them that morning.  
Some help. I thought. He'd left when I'd needed him.  
I walked into the kitchen and saw Nick standing in front of the sliding door.  
"What's up?" I asked him, walking over to look out.  
Large white snowflakes were falling. I could barely see anything out of the window. "Oh no." I murmured. "Ivy's out there!" I hurried to the laundry room to pull on my boots and coat. "I'm gonna go bring her back in." I said.  
"Need some help?" Nick asked.  
I shook my head. "Naw, you stay here with Charlie and Ashlea." I said, grabbing my hat. "It shouldn't take to long."  
I headed out the door and was greeted with a cold snowy gust of wind.  
I hurried down the stairs and to Ivy's pasture. I couldn't see her in the pasture for a few minutes, but then I saw a large black shape towards the back of the pasture.  
I opened the gate and let myself in. "Ivy," I called, walking towards her and hoping she'd come over to me.  
She didn't.  
I trugged through the snow and stopped in front of her. "What are you doing silly girl?" I asked, attaching my lead to her halter. I figured that she would have been excited about going into the warmth of the barn.  
I patted her neck, then started to walk forward. "Come on girl," I said.  
She didn't budge.  
"What's wrong?" I asked, looking at her. "It's not like you to balk."  
She bobbed her nose up and down, then turned her head to the side and let out a soft whicker.  
And then I heard something return it.  
Another horse? No way. There wouldn't be another horse in here.  
I turned to look where the whicker had come from. Through the snow I could almost make out the outline of something white.  
I let go of Ivy's lead, ground tying her, and walked closer to the shape.  
As I got closer it didn't move, so I reached out and found myself touching a foal!  
A foal! Why was there a foal in Ivy's pasture? We didn't have any foals right now. And Ivy couldn't have had the foal. The vet had beeen out not to long ago, and had confirmed that my mare wasn't pregnant.  
I frowned. This was weird. But I also knew that the foal needed to be inside. THe cold couldn't be good for it.  
It was small, probably only a few days old. I put my arms around the foals leg's and lifted it up, then I grabbed Ivy's lead and headed for the barn.  
Inside Dad was sitting on a bench, soaping his saddle. His jaw dropped when he saw me carrying a foal.  
"Where'd that come from?" He asked in surprise.

I lead Ivy into her stall. "I don't know. It can't be Ivy's, but it was in her pasture." I said. I sat the foal down and took a good look at it. It was a boy, small and white, and a little wobbly, suggesting he was about three or four days old. He defintely could not have run away from anywhere.  
Dad came to stand at the stall door. "Know anyone who had a white foal?" He asked, mostly to his self.  
I answered anyway. "I don't. Most people don't have foals this time of year." I said, running my hand over the foal's side. He was skinny, but not to badly. He must have gotten fed not to long ago.  
"Well if someone lost him, it's gonna be close. The Graham's, the Trencher's, or the Rainy's." He said.  
I nodded. That made sense. "What if they aren't missing any horses?" I asked, looking at the foal again.  
He shrugged. "Then I'm gonna guess someone dumped him."  
"Dumped a foal?" I asked, shocked that anyone would do that.  
"It's not competely unheard of. Doesn't happen very often. Anyway, if you call all the neighboring ranches, and n one is missing a white colt, and no one claims him, then I guess he's yours. And your respobilty. So why don't you go mix him up a bottle from the supplement on the shelf in the feed room, then start making your phone calls." He said.  
"Okay," I said, watching him walk back towards the bench.  
I hurried to my feet and went to make the foal his bottle.

An hour and a half later I had called all the neighboring ranches, plus a few a little further off. No one was missing a little white foal. Most of them didn't even have any foals.  
And the foal wasn't getting hang of the bottle real fast either. So far more milk had ended up on me, and Nick who had come down to help me after Mom had gotten home, then in the foal.  
He was trying though and I hoped he would get it fast.  
"So what are you calling him?" Nick asked, looking over the foal.  
"Well I was gonna call him Blizzard, since I found him in a blizzard." I said, shrugging.  
"That's a good name for him," Nick agreed. "And if no one claims him, he's yours?"  
I shrugged again. "I guess so." I said. But I was happy. I was already getting very attached to this foal.

"Still no one's claimed him, huh?" Nick said, three days later, standing outside of the stall.  
Blizzard had defintely grown. He was much friendlier now too. He walked over to Nick and began sucking on Nick's fingers, looking for a bottle.  
"Come here you silly foal," I said, laughing at him. His ears pricked up at the sound of my voice and he walked over to me.  
I patted his white fuzzy neck and smiled, then looked up at Nick. "I guess Dad was probably right about him being dumped." I said in a low voice. I still couldn't believe anyone would do that to foal, but that was the only possibilty that made sense.

Nick nodded. "That's what it looks like." He said.  
Things were actually going really well. Blizzard had gotten the hang of the bottle, and was drinking a lot, but I didn't mind. I loved every second that I spent with the foal.  
He was staying in Ivy's stall. The mare was his adoptive mama, I guessed. It was weird to see Ivy, who was so mean to the other horses, was so sweet to the foal.  
And there was only three days till Christmas. I didn't think I could be happier if I tried.

"Hand me the tinsel please." I asked, looking over at Nick.  
I was standing in front of our Christmas tree, and he standing by a large box of decorations.  
Together we were more or less decorating the tree. There were two days before Christmas, and we had finally gotten around to doing it.  
I was taking one of my first breaks from Blizzard in several days. I loved every second with teh foal, but it was nice to be in the warm house for a while. Mom was baking gingerbread cookies in the kitchen, and the sweet aroma, mixed with the evergreen smell of our tree smelled wonderful.  
As Nick handed me a handful of tinsel I breathed in deeply and sighed. Christmas was defintely the best time of the year.  
Nick and I were doing all the decorating on the tree except for the ornamnets on the bottom. Charlie adn Ashlea would get to do those when they woke up from their nap.

The doorbell rang I heard Mom go to answer it.

I hummed a christmas carol to myself as I layed the tinsel over the tree.  
A moment later Mom stepped into the living room with a middle aged woman I had never seen before.  
Both me and Nick stopped and turned to look at the woman.  
"Mrs. Prescott, this is my daughter, Jasmine, and her friend Nick. Guys, this is Alice Prescott, from Prescott farms." Mom said.  
I had never heard of Prescott farms. I looked over at Nick. He gave a barely notiable shrug.  
"I guess you are the one I would like to speak too." The woman said, looking at me.

"Why?" I asked, confused.  
"I believe you found something of mine." She said.  
"I did?" I asked, still confused.  
"Yes, a little white foal."  
I stared at her. My world was crashing down aroudn me. She had to be kidding. No one had claimed the foal, no one had even been missing the foal! And I thought that I was gonna get to keep him.  
"Oh." I said, unable to say anything else.  
"Can I please see him?" Mrs. Prescott asked.  
I couldn't move, but Nick nudged me, "come on Jas," He said, walking out to the barn with me and Mrs. Prescott.  
Blizzard bounded over to the stall door, hoping I"d have a bottle for him.  
I felt cold as I patted his neck and looked up at Mrs. Prescott.  
"Well this is defintely my foal." She said, nodding.  
"How did you hear about 'em?" Nick asked, almost supsicously.

She waved a hand, dismissing it. "Oh I was at the diner and Ryan Rainy was talking about how you had found a little white foal. ANd I had a white foal, so I went home and looked, and sure enough, he was missing."  
She didn't even notice it until today?  
"Well I'll be back to get him later." She went on.  
Nick stepped in. "We'll be happy to bring him over for you. Your ranch isn't far is it?"  
She looked at him for a few minutes, then shrugged. "Fine, it'll save me a trip." Then she listed off the directions to Nick, and started for the door.  
"She doesn't even care about him." I said, after she had left. She hadn't even touched him.  
Nick nodded. "I'm sorry Jas."  
I shook my head, not willing to fall apart in front of him.

"It's okay," I said. "I'm just gonna go grab my cowboy boots so we can ride out to their ranch." I said, turning away from him and blizzard and heading for the house.

An hour and a half later Nick and I were headed towards Prescott Farms on our horses. Blizzard was walking aside Ivy, walking excitely through the snow.  
Nick had offered to take him for me, but I knew I couldn't watch him ride away with Blizzard. I wasn't ready to say good bye yet.  
Prescott Ranch was amazing, I thought as we rode onto their driveway.  
There was a huge house sitting on top of a hill, and two large barns sitting in the distance.  
"Wow," I muttered. How had we never noticed this place before?  
It was kind of strange, that we'd never met Mrs. Prescott before.  
I shook my head and urged Ivy to contiue down the road towards the house.  
No one came out of the house to meet us, so Nick slid out of the saddle and went to ring the doorbell while I held onto Clue's reins.  
I was dreading it. I didn't want anyone to walk out of the house.  
But Mr. And Mrs. Prescott both came to the door.  
"Oh good, you brought him back." Mrs. Prescott said, looking at Bizzard, who was hiding against Ivy's side.  
I felt choked. Not only was I gonna miss Blizzard, Ivy was too.  
"Well, we'll take him to the barn," Mr. Prescott said, coming over to take Blizzard's halter.  
"Do you think he'll take his mama back?" I asked, looking down at the barn.  
"What do you mean?" Mr. Prescott looked puzzled.  
"He's been being fed with a bottle for the last few days, not a mare." I explained patiently.

He shrugged. "I'm sure it'll be fine. SOmeone'll feed him." He said, unworried.

I bit my lip. "Well if no one does, and he needs to be bottle fed again, I'd be happy to do it." I said.  
He stared at me. "Uh thanks, but I don't think that'll happen."  
This was only getting worse. I looked to Nick, who was giving me a sympathec look.  
"Do you think we could visit him once in a while?" Nick asked.  
I shoot him a thankful smile.  
Mrs. Prescott gave us a fake looking smile. "I know you kids will miss him, but it'll be best for him if you don't." She said, then she turned to walk back into the house.  
I slipped out of the saddle and hugged the colt. "You'll be okay Blizzard." I whispered. "Bye sweetie."  
Then because Mr. Prescott was tapping his foot against the ground, impatinetly, I stood up and walked back to Ivy.  
He took Blizzard's halter and started walking him to the barn.

Ivy whinnied to him, and he whinned back but Mr. Prescott kept him walking.  
I sighed, swinging back up to the saddle, and turning Ivy back towards home.  
Nick caught up within a few minutes. "I'm sorry Jas." He said softly.  
"It's fine." I muttered, trying not to cry. "It's just...they don't even want him. They didnt' even know he was missing." THen with that I urged Ivy into a lope so I wouldn't have to talk and so he couldn't see that I was crying.

The next day I didn't feel like doing anything. I was still upset over Blizzard.  
It was Christmas eve and but I didn't feel very merry.  
I was sitting in the recliner in the living room, watching Charlie and Ashlea move ornaments around on the tree, waiting for our Christmas eve dinner.  
The doorbell rang and Dad went to answer it. Mr. and Mrs. Graham, and their older children, Laura and Emily walked in.

The Graham's always came to Christmas eve dinner.  
I wondered where Nick was as they walked inside.

Dad looked at me. "Nick's outside."  
"Oh." I said.  
"You should go say hi to him." He said, nodding towards the door.  
I sighed and stood up, wondering what was going on.

I walked tossed my jacket on and walked out onto the porch.  
Nick was standing at the bottom of the steps, and he was smiling.

"Hey," I said, hoping my eyes didn't look to red and swollen.  
He smiled. "I have a Christmas present for you," He said, still standing at the bottom of the stairs.  
"You do?" I asked, a little surprised. NIck and I usually gave each other something, but usually it was just a new halter or brushes or something like that.  
"Come see," He urged, looking excited.  
I walked down the stairs and he moved away so I could see what was hiding behind him.  
I didn't believe what I saw. "Nick?" I asked in shock, looking at the little white foal, with a red ribbon tied around his neck.  
Nick was grinning.  
"It's Blizzard," I said matter of factly.  
"Yeah," He said. "And he's yours."  
"What do you mean?" I asked, still not moving.  
Nick blushed a little. "Well I went back to the Prescotts to check on him, and I ended up buying him. It didn't seem right for him to be with people that didn't even want him, when you needed him," He said.  
I stared at him for a moment, surprised at his speech. Nick was a total cowboy, he hardly ever said more then a few words, much less a speech like this! But then I just grinned, throwing my arms around Blizzard. I had tears in my eyes as the little foal nuzzeled my shoulder. "Your mine," I said, laughing joyfully, "your really mine," I said, then stood up, looking at Nick, who was just smiling.  
I threw my arms around him too, and I could tell he was surpried, but he hugged me back.  
"Thanks," I whispered in his ear.  
He smiled. "No problem Jas." he repiled.  
I squeezed his neck again and turned to look at Blizzard, who gave a squeaky whinny. "Merry Christmas," I laughed, feeling like it was finally a merry Christmas.


End file.
